When we first moved into this house two years ago (already!!) we gave one swatch to the decorators – one – Dulux Chiffon White no 4 and told them to paint everything. Walls, ceilings, woodwork, windows… everything. We wanted a plain canvas on which to hang our pictures and set our furniture against and …
I’m having one of those weeks. I’m also worried that this is not actually ‘one of those weeks’ but just a regular week from now on. Scary prospect. I made a cottage pie last night and tonight I’m going to scoff the left-overs. I just thought you should know. Since last Saturday I’ve attended three …
Last Night the Rain Spoke to Me (by Mary Oliver) Last night the rain spoke to me slowly, saying, what joy to come falling out of the brisk cloud, to be happy again in a new way on the earth! That’s what it said as it dropped, smelling of iron, and vanished like a dream of …
Have you come across ‘Laine‘ magazine yet? If you haven’t, click on the link and have a look, it’s full of beautiful photography and great wearable patterns. Siv is the 2nd pattern I’v knitted from issue 1 and it’s fabulous despite the fact I’ve suffered from a very severe case of 2nd sock syndrome which …
When I was 14, still living in Italy and attending highschool, during the days before MTV entered our lives and approximately 6 months before I even knew who Bruce Springsteen was, a new programme appeared on television every lunchtime at 2.00pm. Right after lunch (and didn’t it make us eat quicker or what) and before …
You know me by now… I love travelling and exploring new places. I find it most refreshing and invigorating. When life gets a little humdrum… I need to do/go/learn something new. This doesn’t mean that I don’t envy people that always holiday in the same location (hey I’m a gemini after all it’s my prerogative …
I’m not a gardener. I enjoy being in a garden, I love sitting and reading in the garden, I love waltzing around cutting flowers and then going back inside and put them into vases… but that is the extend of my skills. The fact that I don’t know much (anything) about gardening might be where the …
Houston we have a problem. It’s the scarves. There’s too many. I did a half Mary Kondo… I collected them all and dumped the big pile on the table Quite a frightening sight to be honest, things had obviously gone completely out of hand, but with the help of a few baskets and a rubbish …
Morning Poem (by Billy Collins) Why do we bother with the rest of the day, the swale of the afternoon, the sudden dip into evening, then night with his notorious perfumes, his many-pointed stars? This is the best— throwing off the light covers, feet on the cold floor, and buzzing around the house on espresso— …
Not an apple pie, not an apple tart… just a simple, old fashioned apple cake. Delicious. In my old and tattered cookery book there’s the copy of an email that my mother sent me on Nov 18, 2000. Seeing the delivery address makes me feel funny… a month later I would say goodbye to my …
while you're ahead... 